Kvyat encouraged by close times in qualifying

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 22: Daniil Kvyat of Russia driving the (26) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR11 Ferrari 060/5 turbo on track during qualifying for the United States Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on October 22, 2016 in Austin, United States. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images). Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat was content with his qualifying performance on Saturday despite not being able to make it through to Q3 alongside team-mate Carlos Sainz Jnr.

The Russian could not find the right balance in the STR11, but was only three tenths off making it through to the final shoot out in the end, something that the 22-year-old sees as a positive.

“Not a bad qualifying session. The car was a bit difficult for me to drive today, with some small balance issues… Nevertheless, it wasn’t a bad lap time considering this and we were very close to Q3 – we only missed out by a tenth and a half.”

One bonus of finishing outside the top ten is having choice of tyres, which Kvyat will try to use to his advantage during Sunday’s race.

“On the positive side, we get to choose the tyres with which to start tomorrow’s race, something that’s important from a strategy point of view.”

As with any F1 race, what will happen on the day is unpredictable, and so the Russian will be aiming to challenge for points on Sunday, with lap times being extremely close between the midfield order in qualifying.

“Many things can happen in the race and the midfield is very tight, so we can try to fight for points.”

A good result is much needed for the Faenza based squad at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) this weekend, who have only managed to scrape two points since the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.